Fire and Ice
by YuGiOh-Lover25
Summary: Natsume discovers a girl with no voice yet strong powers hiding inside her. Here's the catch, she's human. With demons after her and time limit to find her voice again, who will need saving? Her, or Natsume? And with a mysterious woman lurking in the girl's past and shadow, can they discover and thaw the ice in her to unleash the fire? (Terrible summary, i know) slight NatsumexOC
1. Fated Meeting

Bruised, cut feet hit the ground, attacked by sticks and sharp rocks. The slender feet continued picking themselves up, forcing the body they were attached to to keep moving. The long, pale blonde locks of hair fluttered along behind her as she kept up her sprint through the forest. Not a single sound escaped her as she cut her feet open, the sticks attacking her torso, arms and legs, causing deep cuts along her body. She had to keep moving, no matter how much she wanted to lay down and wait for her inevitable death. They were after her, she had to keep moving. If she was caught, she'd face a fate worse than death. As she kept running, the only sounds she made were light pants. She turned a corner, jumping over a large fallen log, and kept running. Her ankles were throbbing madly as if they'd been stabbed multiple times with a blunt knife, but she kept running. She kept pushing forward. She had to find them. She had to find the person they'd mentioned. She had to find Natsume.

OOOOO

Natsume yawned dozily in class, covering his mouth with his hand so the teacher wouldn't call on him. Natsume had a secret no one else knew about, not even his caregivers knew. The only people who knew about his ability were others who shared the same gift, or similar gifts. Natsume could see the world of demons, or yokai, crystal clearly, unlike other people who had their eyes shut to the other world around them. Natsume had strong spiritual powers, just like his grandmother Reiko, and he'd inherited from her 'The Book of Friends', a strong item with the names of the many demons Reiko had defeated and forced into her service. All one had to do was use the name of a demon in the book to summon them and force them to submit to a task. Natsume didn't want any demons, whether they be good or bad, to be forced to submit to someone who had evil intentions. Therefore he was returning the names of all the demons in the book, so when something finally did happen to him, less would be forced to submit. But because he had the book, all sorts of demons were after him, trying to get their hands on the Book of Friends so they could do all kinds of evil.

However, Natsume had befriended a lot of demons without the use of the Book of Friends. He'd befriended a demon with a large head and funny looking mustache, he'd kind of 'won over' a female demon called Hinoe and kind of 'impressed' a large horse demon called Misuzu. He'd also befriended other demons, such as Benio and another demon that was under the service of an exorcist he'd acquainted, called Hiiragi. Then there was his 'bodyguard', Madara. That damn cat had taken over his entire life and was slowly draining his wallet thin of any money. The cat claimed to be protecting him, but all he did was eat, sleep and drink lots of sake. Natsume had agreed to hand over the Book of Friends when he was finally killed to Madara, but before then, Madara had to protect him. He'd done a fine job so far, sitting and napping whenever Natsume had been attacked, and this caused him to punch Madara before turning to threaten those that were attacking him.

The final bell suddenly rung, catching Natsume's attention as he stopped reminiscing and looked up at the clock on the wall. It was three o'clock, marking the end of school. He sighed, yawning again as he stood, grabbing his bag and heading to grab his jacket off the wall. It was late autumn, early winter, and the weather had gotten chilly. Not enough for snow, but cold enough to cause goose bumps. Natsume wrapped his blue jacket over himself, excusing himself before leaving the classroom. As he wandered down the halls, heading to the gate, his cat was waiting by the gate. This wasn't unusual, but it wasn't common either. The fat cat trotted up to him, its weird expression constantly on its face.

"You're late Natsume" Madara barked at him. If anyone else had heard the cat suddenly talk, they probably would've screamed or fainted, but Natsume was used to this kind of thing. He just sighed, walking out the grounds as Madara jumped up onto his shoulder.

"Buy me some meat buns, I'm hungry" Madara ordered. Natsume completely ignored him, transfixed on where he was walking. Something about today had made him feel lethargic all day, and his mind seemed to wonder off all the time. It wasn't unusual for Natsume to seem aloof, but for him to actually space out on nothing at all was uncommon. He must've been more tired than he thought. He had made it all the way to a few streets away from his home while ignoring Madara's constant whining and complaining when a breeze caught his attention, making him look towards the forest entrance. He hadn't seen some of his demon friends, especially those two middle class demons that had taken to worshipping him. He wondered how they were going. As he thought this, a gust of wind blew at him again, as if pulling him towards and into the forest.

_'It's pulling me in? Should I go?'_ Natsume wondered as the breeze left a trail of leaves fluttering towards the entrance of the forest.

"Hey, Natsume! You listening to me!?" Madara snapped, tilting his head before Natsume suddenly took off into a sprint, making Madara fall onto the ground. He managed to roll back onto his feet, glancing at where Natsume had taken off from, then clicked his teeth together irritably.

"I swear, that boy had no regards for his life" Madara mumbled, before taking off after him.

OOOOO

As the girl kept running, her lungs burning and aching for air, she could hear the sounds of the footsteps of those chasing her. She glanced behind her, gasping for a second before turning to look ahead again. She could hear the twigs snapping under her feet and she knew she was bleeding from several spots. As she made it through the thicket of trees, she didn't even have a chance to stop as she suddenly fell off the top of a cliff, heading straight into the pond below. She didn't even manage a loud gasp or a peep of a scream as she fell headfirst into the water with a loud splash. When she surfaced, she patted her hands against the water weakly, managing to wade to the shore. She weakly pulled herself up, coughing silently before her vision blurred and she fell to a heap on the ground. Her eyes rolled up as her vision blacked out, putting her in a world of silence.

OOOOO

Natsume heard a loud splash as he ran through the trees, causing him to stop and pause, looking at the source of the noise. He began walking in that direction cautiously until he heard voices.

"This is the girl?" one voice asked. Natsume hid in the bushes, peeking out to see five demons huddled up together. He couldn't make out their appearance very well due to the shadows of the trees, but he could sense the evil aura around them. As one of the demons moved aside he caught a glimpse of long, curly light blonde hair, making him gasp loudly. The demons all turned to look in his direction.

"Who's there!?" one exclaimed, making Natsume cover his mouth as he realized what he'd done. Just as the demons begun advancing on where Natsume hid, a giant white wolf demon with a long tail suddenly burst out the trees, growling darkly at all five little demons. The white wolf had gold eyes and a red marking on its forehead.

"Be gone demons, these are my prey!" the wolf snarled. The demons backed up in fright, but one tried to hold his ground.

"T-This girl is rightfully ours! You have no claim!" one stuttered bravely. The wolf stomped his foot, shaking the ground.

"Did I stutter?! I said leave!" he shouted, making all five yelp in fright and scatter off. Natsume watched in awe, before jumping out the bushes and running to the white wolf.

"Thanks nyanko-sensei" Natsume thanked, rushing to the girl's side. He gently flipped her over, gasping at the state she was in. The girl was thin and frail, covered in deep cuts and bruises all over her body. Her clothing which consisted of a light blue shirt and white, knee high skirt, were badly torn, and she looked really weak. Madara changed back into his small cat form, walking over to the two of them.

"Honestly Natsume… You never seem to stay out of trouble do you?" Madara complained, pausing before looking at the ground in Natsume's arms.

"She's human, right?" Natsume asked, being unable to tell for some reason. Madara cocked his head slightly in thought.

"She's definitely human, that much I can tell, but she has a strong demon smell on her too. I'd say either a curse or some kind of gift from a demon" Madara stated. Natsume sighed in relief upon hearing she was human.

"Sensei… I'm taking her home… Can you help clear the way?" Natsume suddenly announced, making Madara jump in disbelief.

"What!? Are you insane!? We don't know what kind of curse it is or power, she could be dangerous!" Madara snapped, hissing at the unconscious girl. Natsume just smiled at him.

"Well, if she's dangerous, you can just restrain her, can't you? You're powerful, much more powerful than a human with powers, right?" Natsume asked, knowing that would make the cat feel all proud. Madara puffed out his chest, smiling boastfully.

"Of course! Come on, let's get this girl home!" Madara stated, beginning to walk ahead. Natsume glanced down at the girl in his arms, noticing her slender face was so ghostly pale. She was the definition of feminine, her body developed in all the right spots and being really beautiful despite her horrible condition. Natsume's cheeks flushed slightly as he held her supportively, standing and beginning to carry her back out the forest. He made sure her head wasn't dangling, instead supporting it against his chest. He smiled as he realized her head was right near his heart, and he couldn't help but hope that she could hear it and it was soothing her. He'd heard that the sound of a heartbeat was calming to babies and children, and he knew couples loved listening and feeling each other's heartbeats as well, so he hoped that his heartbeat could calm the hurt girl and at least give her pleasant dreams. If it eased the slightest bit of her pain, then his embarrassment was worth it.

Natsume tried to avoid the streets, heading into his home through the back entrance, then walked up to the door. His hands were a little full, so he lightly knocked on the door with his feet.

"Hello? Touko-san? It's me, I need your help" Natsume called out, hearing the lady that took care of him rush to the door. When she opened it, she gasped in shock, seeing the girl in his arms.

"Oh my! Takeshi-kun! What happened!? Who is this girl!?" Touko exclaimed, dropping the tea towel she'd been holding. Natsume glanced down at her, his expression looking almost sorrowful.

"I don't know… I think she fell off the cliff in the forest and into the lake. When I found her by the lake shore she was already like this. I think she was being chased" Natsume explained, making Touko gasp. She rushed into the house, ushering Natsume to enter as well with the girl, then she returned with a first aid kit. She motioned for Natsume to take her to his room, and she followed closely behind. Natsume kept hold of the girl as Touko laid out a second futon and got the bed ready for the girl. She nodded her head and Natsume stepped to the bedding, laying the girl gently on the bed.

"Alright, Takeshi-kun, I need you to leave the room now. I can handle the rest. I'll call you back when she's clothed" Touko stated, making Natsume's cheeks heat up as he nodded, exiting the room, dragging Madara out with him.

"Takeshi-kun! Before I start, can I put her in your clothes once I'm done?" Touko asked through the door.

"Sure" Natsume replied, sitting down by the door as he waited for what felt like the most painful thirty minutes he'd gone through in a long time. Finally the door opened and Touko walked out. Natsume jumped to his feet, startling her slightly.

"How is she!?" Natsume asked, sounding almost panicked. Touko blinked in shock before smiling.

"She'll be fine. Her bandaged will need changing occasionally, and she'll need help to do stuff, but don't worry, I can look after her while you're at school. You can do see her now" Touko stated, stepping aside as Natsume walked in quietly, not wanting to accidentally wake her up. Touko smiled gently, watching him.

"I know I said I wanted him to bring a girl home one day, but this wasn't what I imagined" she whispered to herself, sighing and walking down the stairs to the kitchen. Natsume sat down beside where she slept, watched her sleeping face carefully. She didn't look like she was having a nightmare, but he had to be sure, right? He reached out, gently placing a hand on her forehead. He blinked, feeling her calm heartbeat.

"She looks tasty" Madara suddenly stated beside him, making Natsume gasp, tearing his hand away before turning and punching Madara on the head. Madara whined in pain, clutching his head in his paws as Natsume scooted to his desk to work on his homework. This was going to be a long night indeed.


	2. Learning a name

_HaveYouSeenTheSea; Thank you so much for that review. I'm glad you like the story so far, and i hope you'll still like the story as it continues, and thank you so, so much for pointing out that flaw. I honestly completely didn't even think of it. I wrote that chapter during a time when my mind wasn't working very well, but thank you for pointing that out. I've added some bits in this chapter which suggest Touko called a doctor to see if she needed a hospital straight away. Hopefully that will fix it up a little bit. But i still hope you'll continue helping out in the story, pointing out any mistakes in plot. But once again, thank you._

* * *

**Darkness crept into his vision, blurring his thoughts as a scene played out in front of him.**

**"What is with you!? Why do you keep shutting me out!? Please, I'm not a child anymore! You don't need to protect me all the time! I finally understand why you kept your distance, and you don't need to anymore! I'm here and I'm not afraid!" called out the girl with long, pale curly blonde hair. Natsume couldn't see her eyes, but he could see the woman standing in front of her. The woman retreated back a little, cowering in what looked like fear. **

**"Hana, please, go home. I've already hurt you once, don't make me hurt you again! You know what my role is, I'm the Ice Queen from the fairytale! I know nothing but pain and coldness. You're the blazing fire of the tale that evaporates the ice and leads the village into summer! Don't you get it Hana!? You and I are enemies!" the woman shouted, her voice shaking. Hana balled her hands into fists.**

**"We don't have to be though! You're my sister! You raised me from a child! We can change the story, we can give it a happy ending!" Hana snapped back, stepping forward as the woman stepped back. **

**"No, we can't… And I'm not your sister. I lied… I knew when you were born in the village that you would be the one to kill me in the end, just as the story dictates, and because of that, I stole you away from your parents. I raised you from a baby and made you believe you were my sister so you would never turn against me, but that's all it was. I never once cared, I'm the Queen of Ice, and I never care about anything. Now leave, before I truly hurt you" the woman replied, glaring down at the ground as she turned her back on Hana.**

**"Yuki… Don't turn your back on me please… Can't you just undo the spell on the village and bring summer around every now and then?" Hana pleaded, reaching a hand out to Yuki. Yuki turned to look at Hana, looking almost hopeful. **

**"I… I can't… I… I don't know how! Now leave!" Yuki stated, turning back around as Hana stepped forward.**

**"Sure you can! I know you can Yuki! Cause I'll be right there to help you!" Hana encouraged, about to walk further forward to Yuki when Yuki suddenly turned, swiping her hand at Hana, darkness spreading around them as the vision cut suddenly. However Natsume didn't wake up then, instead he saw an ugly looking demon's face suddenly appear, offering out a hand.**

**"You want to help your sister? Very well, there's just one thing I ask for you in return" stated the voice, chuckling before Hana's scream echoed and vibrated through Natsume's head violently as he woke with a start.**

OOOOO

Natsume let out a loud yelp of fright as he sat upright, panting from his nightmare. He glanced down at the sleeping girl in the bed next to him. She hadn't stirred or moved in her sleep besides the constant rhythm of her chest rising and falling as she breathed. Suddenly, as if on cue, her eyes fluttered open to reveal pale brown pupils. Natsume gasped, scrambling forward so he was kneeling by her bed. When the girl's eyes locked on him and she saw he was looking back down at her, she gasped silently, jumping up and scrambling to get away from him. She looked desperately for something to throw at him, biting her bottom lip in fear.

"Hey, it's okay! Calm down!" Natsume tried to say to relax her when a book flew in his direction. He managed to block it from hitting his face, wincing at the pain in his wrist. He crawled forward to her, giving her his signature gentle smile, offering her a hand.

"It's alright… I won't hurt you. I just want to help you. I found you by the lake in the forest, you're in my home" Natsume said softly, seeing the girl hesitate. She paused, looking between the new book she had raised to ditch at him and his extended hand. Was she really willing to trust him? She looked at Natsume's face, seeing the expression on his face and his eyes, before looking back up at the book again. She frowned, ditching the book at him, scrambling to her feet and dashing out the room. Natsume covered his face quickly, looking up and gasping when he saw she was missing. He jumped to his feet, running after her and down the stairs to where the front door was wide open. He slipped on his slippers, running after her. He knew he couldn't get far in the condition she was in, but he had to hurry before she hurt herself more.

A sudden crash sound caught his attention and he ran to see a tossed over trash can. He looked up, seeing the tail ends of her hair disappear behind a fence. Natsume frowned, walking slowly to the fence and saw her peeking out from behind it. He grabbed her wrist firmly, but not tight enough to hurt her, stopping her from running off. She struggled against him, but he never once heard her make a noise. Her mouth was moving, he could clearly see that, but not a single sound came out. Not even an audible gasp or whine. Natsume paused, blinking in shock at her when he realized she had no voice.

"Calm down, please! I'm human, look at me!" Natsume pleaded, trying to restrain the struggling girl. He had to resort to pressing her against the wall to get her to look at him.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle, I didn't know you'd resorted to pinning injured girls against walls in the middle of the night. Fallen far from grace, haven't you Natsume-kun?" asked a voice and Natsume turned to look at the source. He saw a tall man standing there with glasses and a hat on his head. Tips of blonde hair came out from under the hat and a black lizard crawled around his cheek.

"Natori-san!? What're you doing here?" Natsume asked, completely unaware that the girl had stopped struggling and was staring at him in disbelief. What were her chances of being saved by the person she was trying to save herself? Before Natori could explain why he was there, the girl slipped out Natsume's grip, suddenly grabbing his sleeves near the elbows, making him look at her. She began trying to say something frantically but not a single sound came out. Natsume blinked in shock, startled by the fact that just a minute ago, he'd been struggling to just hold her there, and now she had him pinned instead.

"Just what is going on here Natsume-kun?" Natori asked, walking to them. The girl looked up at Natori, frowning. Natori just beamed a smile at her, taking off his hat and glasses, sparkles appearing around him. Natsume just sighed, unimpressed as the girl rolled her eyes. Natori blinked in shock at this.

"Don't tell me you've never heard of Shuuichi Natori?" Natori asked in disbelief. The girl just shook her head then began trying to talk to Natsume again. She seemed desperate as she gripped his arms tightly. Natsume winced as his circulation was cut off, then he grabbed her arms back, making her pause.

"I get it, you need my help, right? Let me get you back to the house and you can rest up, okay? Touko-san said she wants to take you to the hospital tomorrow for a checkup" Natsume stated. The girl blinked, then shook her head furiously. She then pointed at herself, then at him, then shook her head as she pointed at him then at her. Natsume blinked in confusion.

"I think she's trying to say she doesn't need you to help her, she's trying to help you. Is that right dear?" Natori guessed. The girl nodded, smiling as she continued nodding.

"Oh, well if that's the case, then I'm okay. Please, let me help you first. Natori-san, I found this girl washed up and injured by the lake in the forest. Touko-san bandaged her up and called the doctor to come see if she needed the hospital, but I don't know what was chasing her" Natsume explained, turning to look at Natori. Natori frowned, examining the girl.

"Hm… Girl, I don't suppose you can see demons, can you?" Natori asked. Natsume gasped in shock, in disbelief that he'd ask such a question straight away. Before Natsume could yell at Natori, the girl began nodding furiously. Natsume let his mouth hang open in disbelief. He'd met someone who could see demons just like he could, and this person happened to be a girl, no older than him. She began trying to talk again, getting more frigid with her movements as she grew more and more frustrated. Natsume noticed this and grabbed her arms gently, making her stand still.

"Calm down, I know it's hard to get your point across, but continuing to move like that will reopen some of your wounds! I'll admit, I was shocked by the time I'd made it home. Most of the cuts had settled and begun healing over…" Natsume admitted, looking down at her bandaged arms that he was holding.

"Do you even know this girl's name?" Natori asked, looking puzzled. Natsume paused, realizing he hadn't even found out her name. He looked at her, thinking to himself as he recalled the memories that had flooded into his dream. He recalled the name Yuki had said.

"Is your name… Hana-chan by any chance?" Natsume gasped and the girl gasped, looking at him in disbelief. She nodded with a smile on her face. Natori looked at him in shock, blinking in stunned disbelief.

"Amazing Natsume-kun… How did you know?" Natori asked. Natsume looked at him, smiling gently.

"Her memories entered my dream… I heard someone call her Hana" Natsume answered. Hana relaxed, blinking at the two of them before gasping silently, falling forward on Natsume's chest. Natsume gasped, looking down to see her face contorted in pain.

"What's wrong?!" Natori exclaimed, rushing to the two of them and helping Natsume sit her down. Hana calmed her breathing down now that she wasn't standing on her feet, and looked up at the two of them. Natsume gasped loudly suddenly, looking horrified.

"Uwah! Your feet! Touko-san just bandaged them all up, guess you really will need to go to the hospital tomorrow then…" Natsume exclaimed, seeing the bandages on her feet loose and dirty. Natori chuckled, adjusting his hat.

"Guess you'll have to take her home and get her fixed up. I'll visit tomorrow and see what I can do to help in the afternoon" Natori stated, helping Natsume get Hana up on his back. Natsume stood, holding Hana tightly on his back, feeling her grip around his neck and shoulders tighten. Natsume noticed again how light she was, barely feeling her weight on his back.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow then Natori-san" Natsume said, turning and beginning to walk back to his house. He felt Hana shift slightly, glancing over his shoulder to smile at her. She gave him a questioning look.

"Oh, Natori-san? He's an exorcist, that's why he can see spirits and demons. We don't always see eye to eye though…" Natsume explained, giving her a gentle smile. She smiled back, yawning silently. Natsume chuckled, approaching the door and entering, closing and locking it behind him. He crept up the stairs, making sure not to wake Touko or Shigeru, and entered his room. He turned the light on, sitting Hana back on her bed.

"Alright, I'm going to have to check your feet, okay?" Natsume asked, looking up to see Hana nod. Natsume undid the bandages, grabbing the first aid kit Touko had left there, then begun cleaning the cuts on her feet. Hana winced from the pain, but remained silent regardless.

"That's one tough curse to break…" said a voice suddenly and Natsume looked up to see Madara sitting up and watching them.

"Nyanko-sensei… What do you mean?" Natsume asked. Madara studied Hana carefully, narrowing his eyes.

"Haven't you questioned her not having any voice? You saw it, didn't you? The creature that took her voice? That's because she's been cursed by a powerful demon, one who stole her voice. I've heard that demons that do that only take someone's voice because they don't have one of their own, and it's almost impossible to get it back" Madara explained, looking at Hana closely. Hana glanced back down at Madara, then gently reached forward, petting his head. Madara gently began purring, leaning into her hand, directing her to a spot between his ears.

"Well, we have to get it back, Nyanko-sensei, please help me! I want to get her voice back, she needs her voice back!" Natsume pleaded. Madara glanced up at him, studying his expression for a few minutes. Madara sighed.

"Very well, but don't say I didn't warn you about how hard this will be!" Madara stated, sighing as he gave in. Natsume sighed happily, turning to smile at Hana as he finished tending to her feet. Natsume finally realized what she wearing, looking away with a slight blush.

"O-Oh… those are my clothes you're wearing, sorry that they're too big…" Natsume apologized, seeing she was wearing his white shirt which was a bit too big, and a pair of his pants that Touko had tied around with a piece of string to hold in place. Hana just smiled at him, grabbing the blanket and laying down.

"Well, tomorrow Touko-san's going to take you to the hospital to check over your wounds. She called the doctor while you were unconscious and he came around to check on you, but for now we should get to sleep" Natsume stated, turning the light off and crawling into his own bed. He glanced to his side to see Hana on her side, looking at him as well.

"Scared?" Natsume asked. Hana shook her head, her lips turning into a small smile, then closed her eyes as she snuggled into the blanket. Natsume decided not to press the topic, closing his eyes and drifting to sleep himself.


End file.
